


Long Live the Fucking Queen and All That

by ZadieWrites



Series: My Pre-Canon Content [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: A reference is made to Ygraine getting drunk in the past, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/M, Fluff, Foreshadowing, I thought this was cute, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Vomiting, Lots of wine drinking is involved, Pre-Canon, Romance, Uther actually loved Ygraine, Wedding Fluff, Ygraine was a knight because why not at this point, cursing, knight!Ygraine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27984831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZadieWrites/pseuds/ZadieWrites
Summary: Ygraine experiences post-being-crowned-as-Queen jitters and simultaneously was just married to Uther Pendragon, who confesses how incomplete he is without her, in his own way. Her brother still disapproves of the whole thing.
Relationships: Ygraine de Bois/Uther Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: My Pre-Canon Content [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977820
Kudos: 4





	Long Live the Fucking Queen and All That

**Author's Note:**

> I needed more of them in my life so I tapped this out. It’s unbetaed, hope it’s not too incoherent.

Ygraine never really thought she’d marry, after all the pressure from her family to do so, she’d never seen a point in the whole thing. For a while, at least. It wasn’t just marriage he’d made her see differently, but just about everything.

She knew if he didn’t believe he had an obligation to marry due to his position, he’d never have either before they met. 

And . . . nothing had happened right away. She was his knight, and it wasn’t proper. But she was, at the very least noble, and no one could stop them. Try as Ygraine’s brothers might. 

Because Ygraine had never possibly thought she’d ever be the type to be a queen. That’s why she became a knight, isn’t it? She’d thought he’d be intimidated by that. Courting and then marrying his own knight. But Uther wasn’t like that. Or if he was, he cared about her a great deal more than propriety.

Not that they’d ever had the chance to court orthodoxically. They’d fallen in love without realizing it at first. It didn’t involve flowers or jewelry or any sort of polite, carefully regulated proclamations of emotion and it didn’t involve awkward occasions where they ate together or rode together and talked in an overly formal manner. Being a noble lady, who was, in some men’s opinion, reasonably pretty, she’d been through all that before. When she’d become a knight she simultaneously became less attractive to noblemen in that respect but the prepositions would still come, now and again. 

A particularly amusing one came from Prince Cenred of Essetir, who was little older than twelve. She’d patiently and gently told him to try a girl in his own age group. 

Ygraine had just been crowned queen. She’d hid in a closet with a bottle of wine trying to process that reality before she went out into the celebration outside. She’d fought dragons, taken arrows, crossbow bolts, and stab wounds, she’d embarked on essentially suicidal missions, and here she was hiding because she’d married the man she loved. 

It wasn’t really that she regretted it. Just that it was all too much pressure. She wanted to marry the king, because she loved him, but she did not want to be queen. 

She popped open the bottle of wine, held it up to her mouth and gulped. When she pulled it away she gasped deeply and sighed, pressing her forehead against the inside of the closet door. 

“Fuck . . .” she breathed. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Ygraine had helped Uther take Camelot, a few years ago and at the time he’d felt like it was incomplete. He thought that was what he wanted but at the time he hadn’t quite been happy. And now he knew why. Because there is no Camelot without Ygraine. 

Somewhere along the line when he pictured the queen of his kingdom, he could picture no woman other than her. At the time, this had been a problem, when he’d felt he couldn’t marry his own knight. 

Honestly, he probably shouldn’t. But he had anyway. 

Uther had done the most foolish thing he probably could have done and married for love. 

Now if he could only find where she disappeared off to after the ceremony was over. Though he’d known this would be hard for her. She enjoyed a good party but she did not enjoy being the center of attention. 

Unless it was his attention. 

When his new wife stumbled over next to him, holding a partially empty wine bottle in her hand he grew concerned. 

“Are you alright?” he asked her. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Couldn’t be better.” Ygraine responded.

“You don’t have to lie to me anymore, I’d rather you see me as your husband than your king.” 

“On that I’d say it’s easier said than done but I am not lying, I love you, and I’m not drunk.” she rattled off before pecking him on the lips. 

Uther stared at her in stunned silence for a moment. But this was what he’d married, he’d known what he was getting into, and he loved her nonetheless. The mess that she was. 

______________________________________________________________________________

“I can say quite confidently that I would not be where I am right now were it not for this woman,” Uther was addressing the banquet hall, as he stood next to where she sat, holding the goblet. “I would not have even been able to conquer this kingdom. She has given me all she had, and tonight I can rest easy knowing I have returned the favor. To Ygraine Pendragon, Queen of Camelot!” 

Ygraine’s husband raised the glass and everyone else followed suit in a toast and she smiled at him as he sat back down by her side. 

“Please, you did not need me to do what we did that day.” Ygraine said, with a light chuckle. 

“I did, and I stand by that. There are also the many times you’ve saved my life I also could have mentioned however . . . we would be here all night, and I’m sure your brothers just are here to get drunk.” Uther told her. 

Ygraine laughed loudly, slamming the table with her fist, before glancing around, self-consciously. 

“Sorry,” she cleared her throat. “Knight’s habit.” 

It would be difficult for her to stop all the things that made her who she was. Knighthood wasn’t her career, it was everything about her. Every mannerism, every word, down to her laughs were drenched in symbols that she led a warrior’s life. A relatively unladylike life. 

At least Uther looked at her with adoration and amusement when she punched things instinctively but right now she knew that every other nobleman and woman around this table were analyzing her. Looking at her with the shrewd eyes of a rodent to ensure she was really worthy of her new title. 

And the knights were looking at her with a strange mix of pride and sorrow in their eyes. They were happy she’d made it so far, but . . . they knew things would not be the same between them. Maybe they’d still train now and again but not as often, and she would not be their equal any longer. 

Tristan, her oldest brother had been looking across at her with a glare in his dark blue eyes. She sighed. 

“I’d better go talk to my brother, I will return.” she told Uther, standing up and walking over to Tristan, who was leaning against the brick wall of the castle, not even sitting down. 

Perhaps to prove that he was prepared to leave at any moment. 

“Are you really intending on sulking the entire evening?” she questioned, playfully.

“You know I am not happy about the decision that you’ve made. But it seems I must respect your autonomy. I’m not Father. I couldn’t stop you.” he responded. 

“Thank you . . . for not trying. I’m . . . happy, Tristan. Really.” 

“Because of him?” 

“Yes . . . and because of Camelot, and Nimueh, and everyone. I think this is where I was meant to be.” 

“. . . I am afraid he won’t take care of you.” her  
brother confessed. 

“I don’t . . . make decisions based on fear.” Ygraine said, shrugging.

They’d had this conversation before. Often with more screaming and cursing involved. Once, a thrown wine glass.

Because maybe it was a stupid mistake, marrying Uther Pendragon. He wasn’t without his faults, certainly. He was stubborn, and violent, and short-tempered, and prejudiced. At times he could be colder than a blizzard. But Ygraine loved him. And if she saw anyone else become his queen she felt she might shrivel up inside and die.

______________________________________________________________________________

When the banquet was over, Uther and Ygraine just collapsed on the bed together, both too tired to make love, or do just about anything. He was sure she was a bit drunk. 

He remembered a moment, long before they’d been aware of their feelings for one another when he’d held her pearly blonde hair in his hand while she vomited over a balcony, dead fucking drunk. 

“I think that went . . . not terribly.” She mentioned, softly, her head resting on his chest. 

“How many death threats to me did your brother issue, indirectly?” Uther asked the queen. 

“No death threats . . . he said he’s afraid . . . you will treat me badly.” confessed Ygraine, slurring her words a bit. 

“. . . if I ever hurt you . . . I would only be hurting myself as well.” he told her. 

She nodded. “I know. And I’m not exactly worried about it, either. Too damn early in our marriage for that.”

There was silence as the two laid there in the dark. The only sound was the light breeze outside the castle and the soft chatter of servants inside of it, as they cleaned up the mess from the banquet downstairs. 

“I will always love you.” said Uther. 

He always said it that way. Never just “I love you”. Always “I will always love you.”. She’d grown to appreciate it, or find comfort in it. 

“I know. And I you.” she replied. 

And then she went to sleep with a small smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, Ygraine and Uther sure are cute together, sure hope nothing happens to them!


End file.
